The Texas Ranger

A few months ago, Brian dubbed Mary Ellen's walker "The Texas Ranger." See? He's a funny guy.

Well, as of late, Mary Ellen and Ranger have become fast friends. Check her out!

Mary Ellen is One Year Old!!!

Can you believe it? I mean, can you actually believe that it's been an entire year since this little beauty entered the world?

We celebrated in style this weekend. Mom, Dad, Amy, Jenson and Matt all made the trip, and they definitely made the weekend one to remember. We tried not to go overboard, and I think we were successful in making the birthday simple yet very, very special. Here are a few highlights:

One Grandpa in particular had been requesting permission to give Mary Ellen ice cream since she was about 4 months old. We managed to fend him off until she hit the 12-month mark and finally let him give her a taste on her birthday. Her opinion on the matter is still pending, as she didn't hate it but didn't necessarily love it, either. Don't worry, Dad, the seal has been broken and I see many more ice cream treats in the future for both of you.

One of the sweetest things I've seen her do so far. When Mary Ellen opened her gift from Brian and me, she picked up the little doll and planted a kiss on her immediately. Precious.

Grandma and Grandpa got her the Little People farm! It's awesome!! Gotta learn about farming somewhere, right?

This is one of those photos that will live to haunt the cousins... Oh well, they christened the new bathtub together. Hooray for bathtime!

The babies got along so well. There were a few pokes and eye rakes here and there, but all in all, I think they'll be great pals very shortly.

To be continued...

Chatting it up

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right? Well, apparently this little piece of wisdom is holding true for Mary Ellen.

Legend has it that Brian was speaking in full phrases at 11 months. Apparently, his first words were, "Cow says Moo." The kid was a genius.

Well, I'll admit that Mary Ellen isn't quite that advanced, but she definitely has a little collection of words that are all her own. A few weeks ago, I heard her say, clear as a bell, "All done." She'd been working on that one for awhile, but on that particular day, she finally managed to squeeze the necessary consonants in there to make the words sound like actual words.

At this point, her vocabulary includes:
dada
k (cat)
ba (ball)
dere (there)
dow doh? (where did it go?)

Now how about we start working on Mama?

Happy 4th of July!

Okay, so it's the 6th of July but who's counting?

Mary Ellen celebrated her first Independence Day with a BBQ on the 3rd and a trip to Winter Park's festivities on the 4th. She didn't manage to stay up for fireworks either night, so we'll have to wait until next year to get a reading on how she feels about the noise.

Mary Ellen's first official washers game. She wasn't on the winning team, however. Don't worry, kid. Someday you'll give me a run for my money.

What BBQ would be complete without Cheerios?

It was way too hot to spend much time in the park on the 4th, but since there was a fountain we just had to check it out. Mary Ellen just loves the water and she could have stayed by the fountain all day.

Check out her little outfit - I made it! I really think it turned out cute, though it was a little big. This is the second outfit that I made for her; the other being a little dress for her birthday. Just a few more days until the debut of that little number!

Personality Galore

Why do I feel like Mary Ellen has become exponentially more interesting this past week? And why does it seem like my job has also grown exponentially? She's suddenly started to notice everything, and everything she notices, she needs to touch, explore, and, of course, taste. And with that comes a seemingly constant string of redirection...

I think the best part of this change is how much her personality is starting to shine through. We've always had a hunch that she'd be easy-to-please and somewhat silly. When I watch her play with her toys now, she doesn't just passively pull and prod, she has a purpose and she gets so much enjoyment from her playthings. She giggles and dances, which in turn makes me giggle (and dance a little too, if she's watching).

One of her favorite toys right now is her peek-a-boo animal box. Although she can only get one of the animals to appear, she's really good at putting the animals away. And she is surprised and delighted every time they come back. Have a look:

Practice, practice!

Mary Ellen has finally figured out the mystery of the push toy. Check her out!

Mary Ellen is 11 Months Old!

Oh, sweet girl. Where do I begin?

Mary Ellen has blossomed. This past month has brought more changes that I could have imagined. It seems that once she picked up on crawling, she started understanding and interacting with the world around her like never before. She amazes me everyday, but more than anything, she makes me laugh by how sweet she is. A few times I've caught her "kissing" her animals and as well as some of the photos of family that we have for her to play with. She loves to share the love. Thanks, Mom, for teaching her that little trick!

Stats:
19+ lbs
10 teeth (+ 2 more that are on their way in)
12-months size clothes
Size 3 shoes

Likes:
• Reading books - She's finally moved past the point of eating any book that she gets her hands on, so she's regained full-time access to her books. Lately she's also started bringing a book to Brian or me. She always chooses the Sesame Street one for Brian because he does the best voices. Seriously, he does a fantastic Cookie Monster.
• Crawling - She has become a speedy crawler and uses what Brian and I call the "sea turtle" method. She slaps those arms down on the tile like a baby sea turtle on its way to the ocean. You can hear her coming a mile away.
• Dropping things and proclaiming them "All gone." or "Where go?" We're not sure which one she's saying, as it sounds like it could be either, but she shrugs her shoulders, throws her little hands up in the air, and wonders aloud about the whereabouts of the disappeared treasure.
• Playing with her toys - I installed some open shelves in the living room to house Mary Ellen's ever-expanding collection of goodies. She loves to stand below it and point up at the toys. Then, of course, Brian and I obediently take the toys down for her, and she's thrilled by each one. Her favorites are Lady Gumball, the awesome singing gumball machine, and a musical cube that plays all kinds of songs and breaks down the musical parts by instruments. This leads to one more "like" worth mentioning:
• Dancing - She's a dancing machine. She bounces and shakes her hands when she hears any music, which is often since she has so many toys that play songs.

Dislikes:
• The hot car - For the first time, Mary Ellen has started complaining when we go out. She loves going places, but I think the heat aggravates her. Join the club, Toots.

Thanks again, Mom, for helping her to perfect her Pat-a-Cake. She's a quick study, and the "rolling" is secure now, too. Still working on "throwing it in the pan," though.

Ah. Shoes.

Someone asked me the other day if she was "close to walking." I didn't really know how to answer that, so I guess it means no. She is getting so much better at standing and will even let go of things for a few seconds if she's not thinking about it.

Loving the outdoors.